Welcome to Lykia World Antalya

Our hotel with 449 rooms is just 45 minutes away from the airport and is in Denizyaka, Antalya. When it comes to holidays, Belek comes to mind, the tourist center of Turkey. On the way to our hotel, you will drive through Denizyaka and find peace in all the green. Lykia World Antalya is one of the best hotels in Belek, one of the best hotels in Turkey. Our hospitality is a big plus.

With his nature, his brilliant entertainments and his 2.5 km long private beach, Lykia World Antalya gives you many oppurtunities, delicious meals and great activities. With the beauty of the mountains and the sea, and it’s long history, this place has something for everybody. Lykia World Links Golf Club is not just the biggest golf field of Antalya, it’s also the biggest golf field of the Mediterranean Sea. The variety of rooms makes travels of all kind possible. All guests are welcome to try our sport centres, our eight tennis courts, our mini football field, the chill area and the fitness club. Plus, we have shops where you can buy luxorious and traditional gifts for friends and family.

Your kids can play in the Mini Club with supervision of our animators, while you can chill out in the internet area. With our many equipments in the gym, you will have the chance to stay fit, even in the holidays. Do you travel with friends or family? Do you plan a business trip? Or romantic days with wife or girlfriend? Lykia World Antalya is ready to make dreams come true. We prepared all rooms with stylish and modern furniture. Our suites and villas are also prepared with comfy furniture and some of them have even an incredible view on the sea. With our special offers we are ready to send you to a magical world. Work in the holidays, holidays while working is not possible you think? Please, we invite you to take a look at our website.

History of Antalya

The city and the surrounding region were conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the early 13th century. Antalya was the capital of the Turkish beylik of Teke (1321–1423) until its conquest by the Ottomans, except for a period of Cypriot rule between 1361 and 1373. The Arabic traveler Ibn Battuta, who visited the city in 1335-1340, noted:

From Alanya I went to Antaliya [Adalia], a most beautiful city. It covers an immense area, and though of vast bulk is one of the most attractive towns to be seen anywhere, besides being exceedingly populous and well laid out. Each section of the inhabitants lives in a separate quarter. The Christian merchants live in a quarter of the town known as the Mina [the Port], and are surrounded by a wall, the gates of which are shut upon them from without at night and during the Friday service. The Greeks, who were its former inhabitants, live by themselves in another quarter, the Jews in another, and the king and his court and Mamluks in another, each of these quarters being walled off likewise. The rest of the Muslims live in the main city. Round the whole town and all the quarters mentioned there is another great wall. The town contains orchards and produces fine fruits, including an admirable kind of apricot, called by them Qamar ad-Din, which has a sweet almond in its kernel. This fruit is dried and exported to Egypt, where it is regarded as a great luxury.

In the second half of the 17th century Evliya Çelebi wrote of a city of narrow streets containing 3,000 houses in 20 Turkish and four Greek neighborhoods. The town had grown beyond the city walls and the port was reported to hold up to 200 boat

In the 19th century, in common with most of Anatolia, its sovereign was a “dere bey” (land lord or landowner). The family of Tekke Oğlu, domiciled near Perge had been reduced to submission in 1812 by Mahmud II, but continued to be a rival power to the Ottoman governor until within the present generation, surviving by many years the fall of the other great beys of Anatolia. The records of the Levant (Turkey) Company, which maintained an agency in Antalya until 1825, documented the local dere beys.

In the 20th century the population of Antalya increased as Turks from the Caucasus and the Balkans moved into Anatolia. The economy was centered on its port that served the inland areas, particularly Konya. Antalya (then Adalia) was picturesque rather than modern. The chief attraction for visitors was the city wall, and outside a promenade, a portion of which survives. The government offices and the houses of the higher classes were outside the walls.

As of 1920, Antalya was reported as having a population of approximately 30,000. The harbor was described as small, and unsafe for vessels to visit in the winter. Antalya was exporting wheat, flour, sesame seeds, live stock, timber and charcoal. The latter two were often exported to Egypt and other goods to Italy or other Greek islands, who received mainly flour. In 1920, the city had seven flour mills. Wheat was imported, and then processed in town before exportation. Antalya imported manufactured items, mainly from the United Kingdom and United States.

The city was occupied by the Italians from the end of the First World War until the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Large-scale development beginning in the 1970s transformed Antalya from a pastoral town into one of Turkey’s largest metropolitan areas. Much of this has been due to tourism, which expanded in the 21st century.

Founding

The city served as a naval base for Attalus’ powerful fleet. Excavations in 2008, in the Doğu Garajı plot, uncovered remains dating to the 3rd century BC, suggesting that Attalea was a rebuilding and expansion of an earlier town.

Attalea became part of the Roman Republic in 133 BC when Attalus III, a nephew of Attalus II bequeathed his kingdom to Rome at his death in 133 BC. The city grew and prospered during the Ancient Roman period and was part of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, whose capital was Perga.

Christianity started to spread to the region even in the 1st century: Antalya was visited by Paul of Tarsus and Barnabas, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: “Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch”. Some of the bishops attributed to theepiscopal see of Attalea in Pamphylia may instead have been bishops of Attalea in Lydia (Yanantepe), since Lequien lists them under both sees. No longer a residential bishopric, Attalea in Pamphylia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.

The 13th-century Seljuk mosque at Attalea, now in ruins, had been a Christian Byzantine basilica from the 7th century. The Great Mosque had also been a Christian basilica and the Kesik Minare Mosque had been the 5th-century Christian Church of the Panaghia or Virgin and was decorated with finely carved marble. The archaeological museum at Attalia houses some sarcophagi and mosaics from nearby Perga and a casket of bones reputed to be those of St. Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, further down the Turquoise coast.

Antalya was a major city in the Byzantine Empire. It was the capital of the Byzantine Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots, which occupied the southern coasts of Anatolia. According to the research of Speros Vryonis, it was the major naval station on the southern Anatolian coast, a major commercial center, and the most convenient harbor between the Aegean Sea and Cyprus and points further east. Besides the local merchants, “one could expect to see Armenians, Saracens, Jews, and Italians.”

At the time of the accession of John II Comnenus in 1118 Antalya was an isolated outpost surrounded by Turkish beyliks, accessible only by sea. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1204, Niketas Choniates records that one Aldebrandus, “an Italian by birth who was strictly raised according to Roman tradition” controlled Antalya as his own fief. When Kaykhusraw, sultan of the Seljuk Turks attempted to capture the city, Aldebrandus sent to Cyprus for help and received 200 Latin infantry who defeated the attackers after a siege of less than 16 days.

Historic sites in the city center

Kaleiçi: the historical center of the city.

Ancient monuments include the City Walls, Hıdırlık Tower, Hadrian’s Gate (also known as Triple Gate), and the Clock Tower.

Hadrian’s Gate: constructed in the 2nd century by the Romans in honor of theEmperor Hadrian.

Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret) Mosque: Built by the Seljuks and decorated with dark blue and turquoise tiles, this minaret eventually became the symbol of the city

Perge

The remains of the ancient city of Perge, lie just 17km (11mi) northeast of Antalya and is the region’s most significant Roman ruin.

Dating as far back as the Bronze Age, Perge was originally settled by the Hittites around 1500 BC and under Roman occupation grew to become one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world. An important city for Christians during the Byzantine period, Saint Paul is said to have preached his first sermon here in 46 AD.

Excavations began on the site in 1946 and have since uncovered a large Greco-Roman theater with fine marble reliefs, a stadium that could seat over 12,000 people, a Hellenistic-Roman city gate flanked by ruined towers, a long colonnaded street, a large agora (central market), public baths and a gymnasium. Of these ancient remains, the theater and the stadium are Perge’s best-preserved sites.

Many ancient scholars came out of Perge, including the physician Asklepiades, the philosopher Varius, the famous mathematician Apollonius (a pupil of Archimedes) and the female Roman ruler of the city Plancia Magna.

Antalaya Old Town (Kaleici)

Antalya Old Town – or Kaleici – is the picturesque old quarter in the center of present day Antalya. With its narrow winding streets and historic wooden houses, bars, restaurants and Ottoman-style boutique hotels, it’s a lovely place to wander around or base yourself while visiting Antalya.

Kaleici can trace its orgins back to the Roman period, when it grew around the old harbor, protecting the harbor from the west and the passage of produce from the east. Originally surrounded by massive stone walls and several gates, Kaleici has only two walls and one gate remaining.

Imposing Hadrian’s Gate is a glorious example of Roman architecture and was constructed in 130 AD to commemorate Emperor Hadrian’s visit to Kaleici. It has a triple-arched portal and decorative marble columns and is supported by enormous, turreted stone towers (from a different era). Hadrian’s Gate remains the most impressive way to enter the Old Town.

Temple of Apollo

The ancient city of Side in present-day Turkey was most likely settled in the 7th century B.C. by Greeks. Today it is a popular resort town due to its location on the sea. Aside from the beach activities, visitors can explore ancient history through the many Greek and Roman ruins located in the area. One interesting historical site is the Temple of Apollo. It is located outside of Antalya and not too far from the modern town of Side.

The Temple of Apollo was built near the ancient harbor, which is is about 15 miles from the sea today. The temple has six Corinthian columns on its front and back, and 11 Corinthian columns on each side. Each column is about 29 feet tall. It was built in the 2nd century A.D. in honor of the god Apollo, who was the god of light and truth.